The score was tied, the Tigers got a defensive stop and then UCF’s Rokas Ulvydas connected on a put-back as the first half buzzer sounded. Memphis headed to its locker room at FedExForum and were greeted by the whiteboard in which Smith had listed the team’s goals for this game.

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Memphis forward David Nickelberry (right) reacts after being called for a foul against UCF during second half action at the FedExForum in Memphis Tenn., Sunday, February 11, 2018. Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal

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One was to hold UCF to a certain field goal percentage. Allowing the Knights to shoot 56 percent in the opening 20 minutes, and 52.9 percent overall, while handing the Tigers their fifth loss in six games, was not what he had in mind.

“In the clutch, you’ve got to be willing to sacrifice … and it all comes down to defense. A team defense,” Smith said afterward. “And we just haven’t had it all year long, just that whole mentality.”

If this latest setback seemed familiar, it’s because the Tigers’ swoon features many of the same mistakes that have tripped them up all season long.

On Sunday, they had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio for just the fourth time since league play began, and the second time in four outings. But Memphis counteracted that by allowing UCF’s once-dormant offense to thrive. The Knights had their second-most efficient shooting performance of league play at FedExForum.

In last Tuesday’s loss to Wichita State, the Tigers shot better than 50 percent on two-point field goals, which has generally been an indicator of success this season. But at one point, once Memphis closed its deficit to five with less than 11 minutes to go, the Shockers had nine-straight field goals that were either layups or dunks.

Facing East Carolina on Feb. 3, Memphis made more 3-pointers than it had in nearly a month (8). Except it allowed ECU, the nation’s worst 3-point shooting team, to hit a season-high 11 3-pointers of its own.

That issue cropped up again late against UCF as well, when the Knights hit two of their six 3-pointers to build an eight-point advantage down the stretch.

“It’s a little frustrating,” forward Mike Parks Jr. admitted. “We work on some of the things that’s happening.”

Forward Kyvon Davenport reiterated that the issues stem from the Tigers’ inability to stop dribble penetration, and the subsequent over-helping to cover up this weakness.

"We don’t have a rim protector, and it’s not so much of help as guys are not making the proper rotation," Smith said. "It’s just a matter of them believing."

Smith, however, also pointed to a lack of physicality, a problem he didn’t foresee when putting together this roster. During the offseason, he figured the physical maturity of bringing in five junior-college transfers would be a strength for this team.

UCF, for instance, scored 30 of its first 40 points in the paint and had 42 points inside the lane for the game.

“That’s something we’ve lacked most of the season, that physicality, and that’s where we’re still learning how to be physical,” Smith said. “You’ve got so many guys that haven’t, they really haven’t experienced this level of competition, and it takes a while.

"It’s taken all year. It’s taken to this point, that we’re still saying, ‘Hey fellas, this is where you have to be physical. This is how you have to be physical. This is where you have to be aggressive.’”

The season-long deficiencies, of course, extend beyond defense. The Tigers remain one of the country’s worst 3-point shooting teams and their offensive efficiency has waned since showing signs of improvement in January.

Whereas Memphis shot a combined 50.9 percent from the field during its four-game winning streak last month, it’s shooting just 39.7 percent in these five recent losses. The Tigers are also committing more turnovers per game than anyone in the AAC during league play and rank 10th out of 12 teams in assist-to-turnover ratio.

The question now is whether Memphis can turn this sinking ship around and avoid a repeat of last year, when it lost six of its final eight games. Can the Tigers really fix errors that have become firmly entrenched trends at this point?

Davenport could only answer in generalities, noting that, “we got to figure out what’s our best plays" on offense. He also pointed toward a need to “come together as a team and stay focused throughout the whole game and execute and communicate on defense.”

Smith remains dedicated to these causes as well, even though what he’s teaching doesn’t seem to be sticking after 25 games.

“You appeal to their pride,” Smith said. “You appeal to, ‘This is why you’re here. We believe in you. This is what we do. Trust the system, fellas.’ It’s all we can do.”